Community Organisation Award
at the National Diversity Awards 2022
GIN LGBTQIA Indian Network is honoured to have received the Community Organisation Award at the National Diversity Awards 2022.
This journey would not have been possible without the shared vision and support of our members, partners and allies. You have inspired us, motivated us, supported us and encouraged us - thank you!
We will continue to serve our community through our online groups, in-person events and other activities. See below for our list of groups, which cater to a wide range of demographics and interests.
About
What we're all about
Welcome!
Welcome to our own GIN & Bombay tonic group !
GIN (Gay Indian Network) is a fun and sociable networking and support group for the LGBTQIA community of Indian origin and their friends and allies that would like to get to know each other in friendly groups all over the UK.
Our Aim is to support and connect the LGBTQIA community of Indian heritage and the wider diaspora with each other, and their friends and allies in the United Kingdom.
GIN started in September 2018 and we now have over 1,500 members.
We primarily operate via our GIN Meetup Group and we have a about 5 to 6 meetups (physical and online) every month.
We have a GIN management committee of 7 people that steer and manage GIN. We also have a team of 10 GIN Event Organisers spread across the UK that that help to organise and run GIN events.
This group is open to all LGBTQIA people of any nationality or race that are interested in getting to know more about India, Indian culture and LGBTQIA people of Indian Origin.
We are a friendly and outgoing group, always happy to meet new members of any nationality or race that are interested in getting to know more about India and people of Indian origin.
Check out our profile on the LGBT Consortium.
GIN Purpose & Aims
Our purpose is to build a community of friendly LGBTQIA people of Indian & South Asian heritage in the UK.
Our aims are:
- To provide friendly and welcoming spaces for Indian & South Asian LGBTQIA people, their friends, and allies.
- For people to come together, feel comfortable, and get to know each other
- To host a range of social and wellbeing events.
- To improve well-being and happiness of our community.
- To provide a platform for Indian & South Asian LGBTQIA people to be able to speak up, gain recognition and representation.
- To talk about and move the conversation forward about issues faced by our community.
- To develop and provide useful resources for our community.
- To communicate, share and uphold our common values.
- To connect and partner with other organisations that share our values and are actively helping to support the South Asian LGBTQIA community in the UK.
Meetup Group
Let's hang out
This is the best way to get involved with our community and be kept up to date with upcoming events.
We provide the following groups and services:
- GIN & Lime Women’s’ Group for Indian and South Asian women.
- GIN Midlands for our members in Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham.
- GIN Well Being support group.
- GIN Book Club meets monthly to review books.
- GIN Film Club for Bollywood and South Asian LGBTQIA films.
- GIN Tele-friending Buddy Service (GTBS) to help isolated people connect.
- GIN & Bombay Tonic WhatsApp group with 150+ members.
- GIN Next GINeration; A social and support group for our members under 35.
- GIN Roast and Toast; Our Food group for lovers of Indian and South Asian cuisine.
WhatsApp Groups
Chat with other members
We have a lively and busy GIN & Bombay Tonic WhatsApp group that you can join if you want to.
Besides the main GIN & Bombay Tonic WhatsApp group, we also have some additional (and optional) special interest groups where members can chat about certain topics of interest, go into more detail and initiate (and host) events being set up (and I am happy to set up the events on our Meetup group).
The GIN WhatsApp groups are:
- GIN & Bombay Tonic Whatsapp group is our main group with over 150 members. A friendly sociable and fun place to share items of interest, ideas and have some lighthearted banter. It can get loud at times 😊
- GIN & Lime – Women’s group to help connect and support Indian & South Asian Lesbian women and their friends and allies.
- GIN Well Being & Spirituality Group – talk about being LGBTQIA, issues about sexuality, race & racism, parents, family, feelings around isolation and shame, and anything else on people’s minds. Also, discussions on spirituality, philosophy, faith, festivals, mediation and self realisation. This group is linked to our Saathi Deeper Conversations & Connections meetups and events.
- GIN Next GINeration – Whatsapp group for our members under 35 years of age. They can connect and organise events here.
- GIN Midlands – Group for our members in Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester, and Nottingham to help the Indian LGBQIA community and their friends and allies in the Midlands to come together, connect and organise events in the Midlands.
- GIN Book Club – Talk about books and read and discuss a different book each month. More info in the GIN Book Club section.
- GIN Film & Arts Club – Talk about Indian & South Asian films, Bollywood and non-Bollywood films, LGBTQ films, and exhibitions and shows and theatre. Organise meetups to see films, plays, shows and exhibitions.
- GIN Roast & Toast group – Our Whatsapp group for lovers of food and especially Indian cuisine. Talk about desi and non-desi food, share recipes, host pot lucks, and organise visits to restaurants.
To get onto the WhatsApp groups, please join our Meetup group and send a message to the group organiser.
Book club
Bookworms unite
If you're into reading, come join our book club where we read and discuss a different book every month.
Previously read books
GIN Charter & Code of conduct
for GIN members and participants
The Gay Indian Network (GIN) is a welcome place for LGBTQ community with Indian connections, and their friends and allies.
Our aim is to create a friendly place where people can have free connections and conversations, and not necessarily confide in complex rules and boundaries. However, we also acknowledge we need to provide some guidance and structures of our values and principles, so people can feel safe and understood.
With this in mind, here are some codes of conduct for GIN participants. We would welcome feedbacks and please contact us should you wish to share any thoughts about these codes.
Rules Charter and Code of Conduct for GIN members and participants
The Gay Indian Network (GIN) was established in September 2018 with the key purpose of connecting the LGBTQ community of Indian Heritage and the wider diaspora with each other and with their friends & allies in London and in the United Kingdom.
The GIN makes use of social media (such as Facebook, twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, meet up etc) and social activities (well-being events, culture, entertainment and other events) to communicate and connect with people.
We are dedicated to provide a respectful, safe, harassment-free community for all and treat each other with consideration and respect at all times, across all media, and in all meetings and events.
We value equality and diversity and do not tolerate any direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation in our GIN activities based on any protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
There is a zero tolerance policy to harassment of any kind. This includes sexual harassment, unwanted touching, stalking and all forms of abuse or discrimination.
We do not permit posting or displaying sexual or pornographic material on any of our social media groups including our Meetup or WhatsApp groups.
We do not permit political discussions on our WhatsApp groups but people may discuss any relevant matters in our meetings and events if they wish to do so.
Attending meetings and events
We encourage participants to RSVP for the events in advance and select number of people accompanying them for the event. This helps the organisers to prepare the events in the best way they can for the participants.
It is simply done by selecting ‘Yes, I will attend the event’, and by selecting how many extra people will be coming with you to the event, on the event meetup page.
If you have replied ‘Yes’ to an event and then you find that you cannot make it, please change your RSVP to ‘No’ in advance to let the organisers know.
Please note that if you RSVP ‘Yes’ but fail to turn up on three occasions without giving any notice, then you may be excluded from the group.
Taking Photographs
Photographs may be taken in our Meetup groups and events. Photographs help GIN members to connect with each other and help new members to understand about GIN activities. However, we also understand not everyone may wish to be photographed for any reason, and we respect their choice. Hence the following guidelines must be followed:
- People must be asked in advance for their permission.
- When taking the permission, people must be told in advance of where and to whom the photos will be sent to, for example, they must be told that their pics will be posted on GIN WhatsApp group and/or on our private Meetup group.
- If the pics are to be posted onto social media then you must get permission from the people in advance and you must let them know exactly which social media platforms their picture will be posted onto (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp).
- Please do not assume that if the person has agreed to be in the photo then they automatically agree to that photo being posted onto social media or to be sent to others. You must get their explicit agreement in each case.
The above code of conduct can also be found on meetup.
Contact
Get in touch
The best way to get in touch is via our Meetup group. Click here for more info on joining.
Social Media
Come follow us
Follow us on twitter @GINIndianUK
Follow us on facebook
Follow us on instagram @ginindian